Electricity

The rise of electric power in the late 19th century fundamentally transformed human life and society. Many tasks which once required human labor became automated, freeing people to create and produce in new ways; exponential improvements in human health and standard of living resulted from this specialization. Though the fundamental processes of the Industrial Revolution had been in effect for over half a century, electricity galvanized entrepreneurial innovation and producer specialization. Industrial output surged as goods and services were delivered at increasingly lower costs, while modern, dependable, low cost consumer goods?clothes, cars, furniture, toys, household appliances, etc?began to appear throughout the industrializing world.

Before the rise of mass produced electricity, humans spent substantial time and effort each day locating, refining and producing energy?wood had to be gathered and chopped, the fire tended, the oil lamp refilled, the icebox restocked, and the coal loaded. Individuals are no longer required to spend valuable time and effort for their own energy needs as utility companies consolidated these tasks.

That is assuming, of course, that one lives in the developed world. Incredibly, over 2 billion people across the globe live without reliable access to electricity. In developing countries, time spent by individuals on cooking, lighting and heating can exceed nine hours a day. Moreover, a reliance on wood and other biomass materials contributes to deforestation in many areas and causes significant pollution. This lack of access to electricity is a significant barrier to easing both poverty and environmental degradation.

The U.S. does not suffer from lack of access to electricity; instead we conveniently purchases power generated by companies using a variety of energy sources. According to the Energy Information Agency (EIA), in 2006 about half the country's net electricity was generated by coal; 20 percent each by natural gas and nuclear power; and 7 percent by hydroelectric dams. All renewable energy sources combined generated just over 2 percent, while petroleum accounted for less than 1 percent.

Electric Power Industry Overview Managed by the EIA, this site provides the most recent data on energy use throughout the country. A variety of charts and graphs detail the specifics of energy consumption; a graph of electrical power generation by fuel type may be of particular interest.

HyperPhysics: ElectricityFor a quick flash-card review of electricity see Georgia State professor Rod Nave's HyperPhysics site. Use his clickable flow chart to navigate through electricity concepts like circuit elements, Ohms Law, and applications.

VIEWPOINTS

Individual Liberty, Limited Governments, Free Markets and PeaceWith their commentary on the electricity deregulation debate, the Cato Institute makes the case that consumer interests are in fact protected and enhanced in deregulated energy markets. However, Cato argues that true deregulation has in fact not occurred in US electricity markets and that more extensive curtailing of government power is necessary.

Protecting Health, Safety, and DemocracyUnlike the Cato Institute, the Public Citizen objects to deregulation, arguing that making electricity a ?commodity? exposes consumers to unfair market pressures. They point to raising prices as an example of the failures of the current system of deregulation.